Maine news, sports, weather from Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram, Portland, Maine

June 24, 2012

Open House: Written in stone

The fieldstone manor where Maine author Kenneth Roberts penned some of his works will open to the public for the Kennebunkport Historical Society's show-house fundraiser.

By Ray Routhier rrouthier@mainetoday.com
Staff Writer

KENNEBUNKPORT - Before she could pick out any fabric, or a wall color, or a light fixture, designer Paula Robinson Rossouw decided she had to do some reading.

Check that. A lot of reading.

That's because Rossouw was preparing to make over the sunken living room at Rocky Pastures, the Kennebunkport home built for famed Maine author Kenneth Roberts in the late 1930s. Roberts was a master of historical fiction -- including "Arundel," "Rabble in Arms," and "Northwest Passage" -- and his work inspired generations of historical fiction writers.

So Rossouw had plenty of material to pour over when trying to learn about Roberts -- his interests, his sense of humor, his passions -- anything that would help the living room come alive with his unique spirit. She also used old pictures of the living room from when Roberts lived in the house as a model for her redesign.

"From reading, I found out that he was a very private, fascinating man with a keen sense of humor," said Rossouw, of Paula Robinson Design Group in Kennebunkport. "I found that he had a passion for dowsing (finding underground water). His last books were about it."

Because of Robert's interest in dowsing, and in the outdoors generally, Rossouw's design for the living room includes a "rockery wall," which is basically a rock and water feature built against the wall on one side of the room. A mirrored gate behind the rocks is an allusion to the author's "childhood fascination with myths, fairy tales, and his ancestors and their adventures," said Rossouw.

She put in whimsical touches like an antique phone with the cord cut, and antique scissors next to it -- again, a nod to the author's desire for seclusion.

The makeover of the living room at Rocky Pastures was done as part of preparations for the house to be opened to the public this summer for the first time. The home will be this year's "Designer Show House," a fundraising event for the Kennebunkport Historical Society. The house is open to the public now through July 14, for $20 per person.

THE AUTHOR'S STORY

Roberts was born in 1885 in Kennebunk and raised in Massachusetts, but visited Maine often while growing up. He started his career as a journalist, and early in his adult life bought a cottage at Kennebunk Beach. It was while spending time in Maine that he met writer Booth Tarkington, who had a home nearby. Tarkington encouraged Roberts to pursue his longtime desire to write historical fiction. Roberts did, and it was in that area that he gained wide fame and fortune.

After the success of his fifth novel, "Northwest Passage," Roberts bought the land for Rocky Pastures and began plans to have a stone house built there. "Northwest Passage" was later made into a film starring Spencer Tracy. Roberts lived and wrote in the house at Rocky Pastures until his death in 1957.

The house has had a series of owners since then, and underwent interior rebuilding after fire gutted it in the mid-1970s, with the original fieldstone exterior walls remaining intact. Today the 12-room, 6,000-square-foot home has a definite country manor feel, with surrounding pastures, terraces and balconies, stone walls and a cozy stone potting shed on the grounds.

Area designers have filled rooms with works of art, furniture, antiques, wall treatments and other design elements that will be for sale throughout the event. Some rooms draw heavily upon Roberts for inspiration -- such as the living room and the writer's study.

A children's bedroom, decorated by Nicki Bongiorno of Spaces Kennebunkport, draws inspiration from the green pastures and trees seen from the room's windows, and from the fact that Roberts loved nature. The room features white birch trees painted onto the walls, with branches bending onto the ceiling. There are hanging light fixtures shaped like birds, a rope swing and a closet that has been converted into a children's playhouse.

(Continued on page 2)

Tweet